The heterogeneity of early school leaving in post-compulsory transitions: Pathways and subjectivity of the school experience

Abstract

This article explores school dropout in post-compulsory education from a longitudinal perspective with the aim of identifying and measuring the heterogeneity of student profiles and educational pathways. In order to explore the heterogeneity of profiles of students who drop out, an analysis was carried out of the main components, which allowed constructing a typology of the subjectivity of school experience and a subsequent cluster analysis incorporating the variable school performance. The results demonstrate the importance of analyzing school dropout from a longitudinal perspective in order to identify critical moments of school interruption, which range from absenteeism to temporary or permanent dropout. These events lead to situations of vulnerability and the risk of permanent desertion, thus requiring individualized accompaniment as key areas of intervention. It is also important to emphasize the importance of school experience and low performance as predictors of school dropout, while the school’s positive self-concept seems to be a clear protective factor against school dropout. This suggests an area of intervention for prevention related to pedagogical support and positive reinforcement that teachers can activate with the more socially and educationally vulnerable students.